Video: Death Valley comes alive

DEATH VALLEY, Calif. — You've no doubt heard about the torrential rains this season in Southern California, but not far from here it’s been more like a perfect storm.

It is literally the lowest point in the western hemisphere — 282 feet below sea level. And it’s routinely the hottest as well. Because of the nearby mountains, hardly any rain ever makes it here — just two inches a year, on average. And that makes this the driest place in all of North America.

At least that was true until this year. This winter, Death Valley came to life after six inches of rain. The very same heavy rains that drenched California, woke up some flower seeds that had gathered and were sitting — hibernating — on the desert floor for years.

"It's the perfect storm of blooms," says Charlie Callagan, a park ranger at Death Valley National Park.

Callagan has been here for 15 years and he's never seen it like this.

"We were seeing flowers in December and here we are nearing our peak in March, and it just gets better everyday," he says.

Slideshow: Desert blooms
There are the purples — Phacelia, beautiful, but they'll cause a rash; the whites, Gravel-ghost; and fields of Desert Gold that have never been more rich.